I would categorize E. L. Doctorow’s The Book of Daniel in the historical fiction genre. Typically, when we think of Communism and the atomic bomb, we think of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg – the couple executed for committing espionage and passing information about the A-bomb to the Soviet Union. The Book of Daniel is not about the Rosenbergs, but a couple whose situation was eerily similar: the fictional Paul and Rochelle Isaacson. However, the novel is written from the perspective of the Isaacsons’ son Daniel. Daniel describes what life was like as a child of the Isaacson household, his parents’ political statements and meetings, and the horrors he experienced while watching his parents flounder under the watchful eye of the entire nation. Daniel also gives the reader glimpses into his current life while writing the memoir as a Columbia graduate student in the 1960s. He portrays through graphic imagery how the execution of his parents affected his and his sister’s entire adult lives.

Doctorow’s novel paints a brilliant picture of scattered images from Daniel’s memory. From the horrific image of his parents convulsing on the electric chair to Daniel’s violent abuse and manipulation of his wife, the incredible imagery in Daniel is not for the faint of heart. In addition, Doctorow does not writes in chronological order. Scenes from Daniel’s childhood are juxtaposed with his current life story as a married adult. There is no evident pattern with the timeline of the story, which can make the events difficult to follow, but Doctorow’s style of relating scenes from his parents’ trial to his time spent writing his dissertation creates a much more immersive and interesting storyline. Doctorow also switches the narration between first and third person, which creates an unreliable narrator and a confusing switch between intimacy and separation with the Daniel.

While The Book of Daniel is in no way a work of nonfiction, there are several very real details that mirror the events of the Rosenberg case, which creates in the reader an intense illusion of reality. In addition, the effects Daniel portrays in his own language and his descriptions of his sister’s slow decline into insanity are absolutely understandable for someone who went through such an appalling childhood.

E. L. Doctorow has conceived an incredible story in The Book of Daniel in which a troubled young adult tells the events leading up to and including the execution of his beloved parents – events that will follow him for the rest of his life. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in history and historical fiction.

Post-Mortem is not for those that lose sleep over crime shows and horror movies. However, if you revel in forensic investigation and murder mysteries, Patricia Cornwell’s riveting novel is perfect. The story, told from the viewpoint of a middle-aged female medical examiner, Kay Scarpetta, is the first in a long Scarpetta series. Kay, a hardworking examiner in a field dominated by men, works hard to investigate the related stranglings of four women in Richmond, Virginia. In the meantime, she is convinced that someone is out to set her up and ruin her career. Balancing these tasks with watching over her niece, Lucy, whose ditzy mother elopes without a word, and dating the Commonwealth’s prominent attorney, who may not be as clean-cut as he appears in the newspapers, Kay’s sanity is tested and her patience strained.

With a believable cast of assorted characters, Cornwell writes a page-turner that will have you checking your closet before going to bed. Though slightly slow in the middle, Post-Mortem contains a fictional story with a side of reality that every woman fears. The honesty with which Cornwell writes is more frightening than the mystery of the story itself. By bringing your worst fears to the surface, she creates a daunting atmosphere you can’t escape. The final chapter had my heart pounding and my mind reeling.

This Scarpetta novel was written in 1990, when DNA testing and forensic investigation were not at the level they were today. Though the system is more complicated, the story is even more interesting and based more on gut feeling than evidence. Cornwell’s novel is and will continue to be relevant due to the badass female lead, the wide target audience, and the fascinating insight into the world of forensic science.

This is a heavy novel, but it deserves all the acclaim it has received and more. Dorothy Allison takes the reader into the mind of a ten-year-old girl, Bone, growing up in the middle-of-nowhere, South Carolina in the fifties. The women in Bone’s life are tough but rely on the men of Greenville County to support them. Bone’s mother marries an abusive man, and Bone, though a strong and quick-tempered young woman herself, has no choice but to endure the abuse for her mother’s sake. Over time, her stepfather gets steadily meaner and Bone grows more and more defiant. The conclusive interaction between Bone and “Daddy Glen” will leave a reader feeling drained and even weary.

Bastard Out of Carolina is certainly not a feel-good book, but the language is sincere. The speaker’s voice is hauntingly real. Bone’s point of view is raw and her vernacular amateur and child-like, but the reader has no choice but to believe the validity of the story.

I would recommend this book to those that enjoy an emotional page-turner or an honest rendering of a together-to-the-end country family.